With the events of 2020, we have been spending more time at home playing games. The packaging got torn up on one of our favorites so I decided to make a new wooden box to hold the cards. I knew I wanted to make a bandsaw box, but I didn’t want to make it like most “normal” bandsaw boxes.

I started out with a block of wood about the size I need. This particular piece of Aspen was left over from a previous project. After squaring up the ends, I used a compass to scribe lines on all 4 sides. This is where I would cut the slices that would make up the sides of the box. I used a small crosscut sled on the bandsaw to make these cuts. You could also use the fence in place of the sled. Then I turned the block, and made a cut that would form the top of the block. Now I have the pieces for the entire lid of the box. The cool part is that now, all the grain will be continuous around the whole thing.

Now I repeated the same process using the now smaller block, that was the center of the box. This made another small box that will fit inside the outer box. Time to glue these 2 boxes up.

After applying glue, I used painters tape to hold the boxes together. The tape acted as my clamps. This was somewhat easier to use than trying to wrestle with clamps. Once the glue dried, I sanded everything smooth and flush. I forgot to cut some finger notches on the top, so I carefully used a forstner bit to remove some material for finger holds.

Before applying finish, I used my ink jet printer to apply the games logo to the top of the box. This method is great for adding a splash of color, or personalization to your work. Finally I sealed everything up with a few coats of spray lacquer.

This project turned out great. Its super useful, and way better than the worn out cardboard the game was in. My favorite part of this is that the grain wraps all the way around the block. It looks cool. I’d like to encourage you to think outside the box on your next project. How can you take something that exists and put your spin on it. Have fun, and make cool stuff.

— Affiliate Links to Products Used —
Uno Card Game – https://amzn.to/32f8efD
Scotch Painters Tape – https://amzn.to/3iU7PVB
Titebond 2 Wood Glue – https://amzn.to/2ZYgkGI
J Roller – https://amzn.to/3frGJTS
Rikon 10-305 Bandsaw – https://amzn.to/3gVYs5R

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